Life in the kibutz

Emanuel Norman was born in Jerusalem, and grew up and was educated in a Kibutz. Kibutz is a very special way of life which exists only in Israel (There are aproximately 300 Kibutzim in the country). The members Of a Kibutz live as a collective share everything and are not much interested in the Materialistic way of life, but rather in the ideology – to live in the holy land and work in agriculture. Because Kibutz is such a special place with a unique ideology it is the place where Norman absorbed the values and love for people, children, animals and nature.

Going to the war

In Israel all youth have to join the army once they reach the age of 18. And like everybody, when Norman was young, healthy and full of energy, he went to the army, where he served for 3 years. During that time he served in the infantry, where walking 30 Km a day was a routine. He also participated in the SixDay War, the Yom Kippur War and the Lebanon War. Despite all difficulties, Norman claims his survice has turned him a better person in any aspect of life.

Finding the Way to Travel on

After the army Emanuel became a Computer programmer, system analyst and his last job in the field was as a computer Department Manager. Since he speaks English and German and likes to travel, he decided to become a Tour Guide. “The traveling virus is in my blood,” says Emanuel. At first, his tours were exclusively by foot, until over time he moved to jeeps. He then used these to acquire vast knowledge about the desert and ultimately gained authorization as an expert in desert tours .

Very early on, Emanuel came with a brilliant idea: He approached numerous scholars, like lecturers in Jerusalem University, all of whom were considered at the forefront of their respective fields, and gave them an offer they could not refuse – to travel with him, free of charge, with his jeep and in return, they will share with him everything they had say about the sites they visited and their history, topography, nature etc. Indeed, this allowed him many insights directly from their source. In this way, in addition to his formal education, he managed to deepen his knowledge in many fields, enabling him, as a tour guide, to offer his clients a great deal of added value, depending on their particular interest.